In April 2026, a missing herd of cows in the northeast mountains of Laos set off a confrontation between villagers and a Chinese rare earth mining company. The villagers in Houaphanh Province had been troubled about the safety of their water since mining began in 2024. A lawyer working with the villagers explained in an interview that “after cattle went grazing in the mining area and disappeared, the villagers demanded compensation from the company.” When the company refused, villagers blocked the mine road, creating a tense standoff. Police were called, and luckily, the lawyer was able to calm all parties and prevent arrests.

Despite existing bans on rare earth mining in Laos, in 2024, the government started quietly encouraging the industry as a strategy to diversify the economy. With the door open, Chinese-funded projects spread rapidly in northeast Laos.

Besides flowing into Vietnam, some rare earth mining pollution from rivers in Laos — such as the Nam Ngiep and Nam Khan—are contaminating the Mekong River. Yet, because of the weak enforcement of water pollution laws and the silencing of citizen opposition in Laos, it is unlikely that rare earth pollution will stop in the near term.With few domestic brakes on the pollution, concerned downstream stakeholders, such as the Thai government, may have to step in to encourage China to better regulate this industry.

Chinese and rare earth mining operations have spread rapidly along mountainous riverbanks in Northeast Laos since 2024. One lawyer, who previously worked with Chinese rare earth companies, explained that “despite bans on rare earth mining, some national leaders have allowed Chinese companies to excavate the rare earths without full feasibility studies.” Most rare earth exploratory permits have been issued in four provinces (Houaphanh, Xieng Khouang, Xaisomboun, and Luang Prabang), and in most cases, the mining companies exceed their permits as they mine.

Unlike typical mines, these projects use in-situ leaching to extract rare earths from mountain soil (see Figure 1). The rare earths collected in wastewater pools contain heavy metals and radioactive elements, which in heavy rains often overflow into streams and rivers, threatening drinking water, farming, fishing, and riverine ecosystems.

Figure 1: An overview of the in-situ rare earth mining process. Source: University of Warwick.

During the rainy season in 2024, chemical-filled water flowed off mountain mines into 37 villages in Houaphanh Province. In all these villages, people stopped drinking the water, eating fish from streams, and planting crops for fear of chemical contamination. For villages that depend on organic farming, this water pollution is a not only a food safety threat but also undermines their ability to sell crops.

One resident of Samneua District in Houaphanh Province remarked in an interview that “in addition to the water contamination, the mining has caused heavy land erosion and villagers struggle to raise their cattle or crops.”

In Xieng Khouang and Houaphanh provinces, some rare earth mines are located on rivers that feed into the Mekong River, posing threats to water quality in the largest river in Southeast Asia. In Xaisomboun Province, a Chinese company was given the green light to survey and excavate rare earths near the 290MW Nam Ngiep 2 reservoir and hydropower dam. Similar to rare earth mines in Myanmar, pollution from this mine also spread invisibly into the Mekong. Thai scientists and government agencies have been monitoring the growing pollution from upstream mining in the Mekong Basin.

Laos has laws on water protection and land rights. Yet, as one civil society representative observed in an interview, “the rule of law in Laos is only a paper…and the lack of law enforcement is creating many problems.” Although the Lao government encourages mining companies to compensate villagers for the toxic leaks from mining sites, one villager echoed the concern of many in the region: “We are in the dark on how bad the chemical contamination is because the authorities have not tested the water.” Without regular testing and enforcement, companies are not fined or held accountable.

Interviewees described how, in 2024, polluted water flowing from rare earth mines caused fish deaths in many village ponds across the region. As village complaints often fall on deaf ears, on February 24, 2024, some determined residents of Houay Mane, Mouang Wean, and Tubpheung villages shot videos and photos to document the fish die-offs in the Namkhoun stream and sent  responsible for the spill. Two days later, the company reached out to the village to investigate the spill. On March 3, 2024, officials from the former Ministry of Energy and Mines (now called the Energy and Mines Department) met villagers of Mouang Wean and collected information and water for testing. The officials reported that the water was clean, but even today, two years later, the villagers are afraid to use the water.

Despite two years of citizen conflicts and complaints about water pollution from rare earth projects, in the spring of 2026, the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s Department of Geology and Mines made numerous announcements to attract more rare earth investors. The expanding legal and illegal Chinese-run mines signal how Laos has become a bigger player in China’s rare earth supply chain.

Rare earth extraction is part of a larger mining boom in Laos. The Energy and Mines Department reported in 2024 that there were 968 mining companies throughout the country; 671 were granted permits by provincial authorities and 297 by the central government.  investments into Laos across all mining sector generated 1.15 billion in revenue for the state. Between 2021 and 2025, there were 20 rare earth mining projects, 13 of which paid the government $20 million in taxes and $37 million for land leases. However, like gold mines in Laos, there have been reports that rare earth projects have sizable tax debts.

Some rare earth projects approved by provincial and district authorities have been suspended by the national government after pollution complaints, which frustrate Chinese investors, according to sources familiar with the situation. Most national government-supported projects remain open despite citizen concerns.

In response to growing reports of pollution and conflict, on May 7, 2026, the Secretariat of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party issued a notice on the management of mine projects and natural resources. The secretariat acknowledged that the surveys, excavations, transportation, and processing of rare earth minerals are often mismanaged and can cause significant negative environmental and social impacts.

The notice also cited widespread cases of mines illegally transporting minerals to avoid paying taxes. It stressed that local authorities will be punished if they ignore mining practices that trigger social disruptions and pollution.

This notice, however, lacks enforcement measures and is unlikely to improve the situation around mining sites in the near term, especially since agencies monitoring health, environment, and safety issues are already overstretched and underfunded.

While the Chinese leadership has pushed for greening China’s Belt and Road infrastructure investments, most previous guidelines have been voluntary and not always effective in reigning in pollution. On July 1, 2026, China’s State Council passed a new regulation on outbound investment, which focuses on controlling technology transfer overseas. The decree also states Chinese companies “conducting outbound investment and related activities…shall refrain from damaging the ecological environment.”

Brian Eyler, Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Stimson Center, believes that “while this new decree does not come with enforcement teeth, it opens opportunities for international engagement. Many in Thailand view this decree as an opportunity for Thai policymakers to engage with their Chinese counterparts to hold its mining companies in Myanmar and Laos accountable for their environmental impacts.”

Considering the weakness of both domestic regulations and channels for citizen pressure to resolve problems, external pressure could be the only avenue for long-term changes.